The present invention relates to reflection seismographs and more specifically to a method and apparatus for collecting seismographic data and providing the data on a recording medium.
Reflection seismographs are utilized to gather seismic data with respect to geologic formations. Commonly a field crew takes the reflection seismographic equipment into remote locations. A string of sensors is placed along a line. A mechanical energy source such as dynamite or a device such as a Vibroseis impact machine shakes the earth, and mechnical energy reflected form geological formations is reflected to the sensors. Information received by a group of sensors effectively provides a picture providing information with respect to a "slice" of the Earth. A plurality of such readings are repeated out on the field along a plurality of lines to map an entire area. Data representative of the measurement along each line is recorded onto magnetic medium. Magnetic media are shipped on a home data processing base where many different well-known data reduction programs are perfromed. Different data reduction algorithms are utilized to provide various sorts of surveys.
By the time the data is processed at the home data processing center, the field work has generally moved to another location or been completed. It may be either impossible orp rohibitively expensive to repeat the precise data acquisition routine shoud the home base find a problem with the data recorded on the medium. Many different parameters are utilized in processing the data that is gathered prior to its transmission to recording medium. The parameters include sampling times at which reflection signals are examined, high and low class filter frequencies, sensor spacing in the field and many other parameters. In reflection seismography, a great deal of manipulation may be employed either to optimize the appearance of data so as to make information regarding the geological formation most readily visible or to make it visible at all.
Further, even in situations in which all parameters are set as desired, particular data runs may still come out poorly. There are other situations in which elimination of unsuitable data is desired even if the data is not to be retaken. In some algorithms run at the processing base, in one bad data run processed in combination with good data runs will render the final composite good data useless. It is desirable to have a way to eliminate the bad data run from a total data package.
In current field processing, the multi-channel data is formated and delivered to recording medium before its quality is known. This increases the possibility of very expensive data collection expeditions having their utility seriously impaired.